My school is in a small town that has 3 other established schools within a few hundred feet of us. They all teach different styles - some teach variations on Korean martial arts like Tang Soo Do while others teach Brazilian JuJitsu, Muy Thai, Krav Maga, or any other number of styles. Some of these styles consider themselves traditional while others consider themselves modern. My experience tells me that most instructors are probably secretly convinced that they have the answer to what is truly martial arts. I get asked often what my opinions are on the different styles being taught.
First, I want to say how much I genuinely respect anyone passionate (or insane) enough to start a martial arts school. While plenty of other jobs are tougher, I can say that this job is challenging. A martial arts instructor is expected to have expertise in their art while being a positive force to the people around them. Since there is a group of people involved, you have to always balance of the good of the group with the each individual's needs. You have to balance what is correct and what has integrity while trying to make a lot of people happy and run a business. An instructor could scare, intimidate, or seem unfriendly to someone without realizing it. In spite of that, I love what I do and feel that I share something uniquely in common with other school owners. Please, realize while reading this; I am not critiquing any other school or style here.
Still, many other instructors are convinced that what they teach is the answer to the big question: What is the best style to use for self-defense? Sometimes, they'll see an MMA match and think that this is the ultimate way. Other times, they'll get exposed to military training and think that this is best. Many others are convinced that the old ways are the most effective and that there's no reason to re-examine the past with a critical eye. There are so many opinions about this topic - is there an answer?
When I was a Hapkido student, I was encouraged to read something called the Tao Te Ching. It is a philosophical text about the nature of reality. The first chapter roughly translates to say in English that the way that can be expressed is not the ultimate way. I spent some time pondering this and I think it means that the moment an answer is expressed that it becomes imperfect. That's not to say that 2 + 2 will equal 5 next week; rather, that reality is always changing and moving around. Life is not as simple as that math problem - from moment to moment, there are different forces that are at work in the world. Any answer to a problem often will not be correct in a different time or context. Let's apply this idea to the question at hand.
The person that comes to the question with the answer of MMA has a pretty good answer. Mixed Martial Arts deals with striking, grabs from a stand, and wrestling. Still, MMA is a sport with rules. Certain techniques are off limits and real life could have weapons or obstacles. While the mixture of these disciplines is very worthwhile and interesting, it isn't going to be the ultimate answer to how to defend yourself.
Military training like Krav Maga or Marine Corps Martial Arts is also very effective. However, the goal of such training is very different than other martial arts. It is developed around the idea that you will have friends coming in behind you. If a person in a squad is tasked with clearing a building and they're the first person into a room with two bad guys, then that person's goal is to kill one bad guy before the other kills them. That way, the friend behind them has a chance to subdue the other bad guy, complete the mission, and continue to fight another day. While this kind of training is vital for the military and shows great courage for self-sacrifice, those goals aren't appropriate for day to day life as a civilian. Take the case of a mugging; it would be less traumatic for the martial artist to hand over a wallet rather than deal with the ethical dilemma of killing someone over a few dollars. That sort of hypothetical scenario may tickle the ego, but people that have experienced having to end another life will tell you that there's nothing to cheer about when it happens. Needless to say, deadly force isn't always necessary and there is a broader spectrum of answers in real life that could be better.
Traditional martial arts aren't always the answer either. Some older styles have such rich histories that they stop looking at what new understandings we have in modern times. Some styles train that when both people end up on the floor, you should stop and start again from a standing position. Yet, life clearly doesn't do this. Other styles still study things like throwing stars, nunchaku, sword, or sai. While these studies often have a great deal to teach us about martial arts, people don't use these weapons anymore. Reality is always changing and growing; are all of those answers still good answers?
The originator of IHF Hapkido was a gentleman named Myung Jae Nam. He was a Korean man who was interested in spreading his view of Hapkido to the world and worked to develop study methods to help the Korean police force. All of us in IHF Hapkido are directed to never speak ill of others styles of martial arts. Courtesy and respect should be paid to these other thoughts because they all have their weight. In some context, they are all useful. That's why we are also taught to be humble because reality is too big for anyone know in its entirety.
So, who should we follow?
Initially, follow whatever grabs your attention as sincere. Listen closely to whatever answers they have. Know whatever answer they have is not the only answer, but listen and study it anyway. If it turns out you are being taught something false, you will find out as you explore it and apply it in practice. Sometimes, you will have trouble making a technique work that someone else can do effortlessly. That doesn't make the technique or the style wrong; it just makes all of us human. Study and find out. Reality has a great way of sorting out what is true and what is not. You're going to learn something regardless of what you study assuming you study with passion, curiosity, and sincerity.
So, the answer to the big question? It's to become aware and sensitive to the world around you, train your body to be strong and conditioned to act, and then let your intelligence dictate the course of action. If you find someone skillful, work with that person. Learn all you can. Grow and realize that there is no final answer. Rather, that the martial artist is engaged in a constant conversation with the world around them. In the end, we have to accept that there is no ultimate answer and that anyone peddling an ultimate answer is either selling something false or has never really been challenged to see their own fallibility.
Have the conversation for yourself.
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